Lt. Col. Wilbur 'Bull' Meechum, a Marine pilot nicknamed 'the Great Santini'. He moves his family to Beaufort, exhibits a volatile temper, and enforces harsh discipline on his son Ben through rough basketball practices. He later orders Ben to retaliate during a game, and ultimately sacrifices himself by crashing his malfunctioning plane into the sea to avoid endangering the town.
A father-daughter dynamic where Mary Anne respects and adapts to his authoritative presence.
A strained marital bond defined by Lillian's endurance of Bull's volatile behavior.
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